On a Wednesday morning in mid-March, the Rams realized they couldn’t be the same as before.
That day, a group that included general manager Les Snead, head coach Sean McVay, defensive coordinator Raheem Morris and the pro personnel tandem of John McKay and Matt Waugh, clustered together in one of the small offices at the team’s Thousand Oaks, Calif., facilities.
They were just a few weeks removed from winning Super Bowl LVI, and the glow of their 2021 season hadn’t quite left the building. One wall in the team meeting room still featured a glossy, enlarged photo of defensive tackle Aaron Donald’s hit on 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo that helped seal the NFC Championship Game, pinned up in accordance with a weekly tradition to commemorate the season’s big plays.
The cries of “run it back!” from the men in that office, echoed by dozens of players and coaches during their boozy, confetti-freckled championship parade, were still ringing in their ears that Wednesday when Von Miller told them he wasn’t coming back.
A future Hall of Fame pass rusher whose historic postseason helped the Rams win their first title in Los Angeles, Miller had wanted to test free agency that spring for the first time in his 11-year career. But he told the team shortly after the parade that he’d be back, so long as the Rams got the money right on a previously-discussed contract extension.
Miller’s return would mean keeping the Super Bowl band together, “running it back” with the same group. Executives already knew McVay would be around for the attempt at a repeat despite rumors he was considering stepping away for a massive broadcast deal. They laid out frameworks for extensions for quarterback Matthew Stafford and top receiver Cooper Kupp, as well as a restructure and raise for Donald.
But then, the call came in. The Buffalo Bills, who had come excruciatingly close to playing the Rams in the Super Bowl that season, had offered Miller something L.A. would not. Miller was heading to another contender.
Snead quietly pushed back his chair and left the room. He needed to take a walk.
When he returned, everything would change.
In November 2021, receiver Robert Woods tore his ACL in practice the day after the Rams signed Odell Beckham Jr., a prolific receiver still reeling from his controversial exit from Cleveland. Instead of gradually working Beckham Jr. into the offense, he had to contribute immediately. But the Rams couldn’t simply put him in Woods’ own unique role — running jet sweeps, blocking and executing the catch-and-run shorter passes and midfield crossers off of play-action that were once a signature of the McVay offense.
The Rams weren’t playing that way so much anymore anyway. With Stafford, McVay moved away from play-action and toward more dropback passing concepts, shotgun and empty formations with every eligible pass-catcher aligned along the line of scrimmage pre-snap.
It was a slow, at times frustrating process to overhaul their offense minus Woods amid the unforgiving sprint of a season that started to feel like quicksand. The Rams had started 7-1 but went winless in November. It was only when the coaching staff decided to swap out their traditional run game with a power-run plan, utilizing extra offensive linemen as “tight ends” in jumbo-blocking formations for steady downhill back Sony Michel, that the team began to re-discover its heartbeat.
“Heck, OBJ didn’t even know the playbook,” Snead told The Athletic. “As Big Whit (left tackle Andrew Whitworth) would say, ‘When in doubt, when taking on water, let’s just run at ’em. Let’s play bully ball.’”
The Rams also learned something important about themselves and their agility.
“I remember the energy,” Snead said. “It can be frustrating — you can have this theory, this vision, that no matter the adversity we’re dealt, somehow we’ve got to figure out how to be stronger out of it. But there are times when you’re in the valley, when that (theory) can be a sign on the wall … can you actually pull it off?”
Stability via the run game helped the Rams put together a five-game winning streak in December and January. As they steadied, they regained the ability to test out new possibilities with Beckham in their passing game
“I mean, what Odell did last year was unbelievable,” said Kupp, who went on to win the ultra-rare receiving triple crown in 2021. “I just can’t imagine learning the offense the way he did in the middle of having to play the game. It was an incredible thing. … You get to the place where it’s like, ‘Hey, we need to figure out what that’s gonna look like,’ he provided something that was pretty special.”
Von Miller’s contributions to the Rams’ Super Bowl run illustrated the Bills’ biggest offseason need. (Joshua Bessex / Getty Images)
The Rams had traded for Miller days before signing Beckham, believing the pass rusher to be the final piece needed for a roster that seemed to have a deep postseason run in its destiny — and elite quarterbacks in its path.
Miller arrived in Los Angeles with a minor ankle injury but got healthy through the Rams’ bleak November. In December and January, he started to come alive as the Rams regained their own footing. He began sitting beside Donald on the team plane after road games and plotting new rush patterns with defensive line coach Eric Henderson.
Meanwhile, the Bills were gathering momentum of their own. They won their last four regular-season games and throttled the rival Patriots in the AFC Wild Card round, scoring a touchdown on each of their first seven drives.
But in the divisional round against the Chiefs, Buffalo found only heartbreak. All too comfortably, Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes led a now-infamous 13-second game-winning drive in overtime as the Bills’ pass-rush failed to rattle him. Their season over, Buffalo GM Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott watched as the Rams’ own pass-rush found a higher gear as they advanced. Miller topped the NFL in pressure rate through the playoffs, recording 12 tackles (six for loss) and four sacks, two of which came in the Super Bowl win.
If the Bills weren’t already painfully aware of their missing piece, Miller and the Rams made it all too clear.
“We obviously know how close we were the last two years. AFC Championship, and then this year 13 seconds away from going back to the AFC Championship,” Beane said this spring. “That’s not our goal. Originally, our goal was to win the division, get to the playoffs and get a chance. We’ve done that. Now we gotta find how we get to that next step. …
“The quarterback is the premium position. We have that. The next thing is to get someone who can get the other quarterback down.”
Multiple league sources believe the Bills were initially targeting veteran pass-rusher Chandler Jones as free agency began in March — not necessarily out of a preference (the Bills had inquired about trading for Miller ahead of the 2021 season), but because everybody, including the Rams, believed Miller was returning to Los Angeles. But as the “legal tampering” period opened and the March 16 official start to free agency loomed, Jones emerged as a match for the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Bills became aware of a key contractual detail missing from the Rams’ still-unsigned offer to Miller: A third year of guaranteed money. The Rams wouldn’t — and couldn’t — do that. They had never offered a third guaranteed year to a player, and they couldn’t set a precedent for Miller instead of homegrown stars Donald and/or Kupp, both of whom had deals looming later that spring.
Miller called McVay and told him he was accepting the Bills’ six-year, $120 million offer with a little over $51 million guaranteed over three years. Some in the room sat for a moment, stunned by Miller’s change of heart. Snead wasn’t the only one who needed to take a walk.
The Rams were forced to pivot, but they weren’t going to target another pass rusher if they couldn’t get one they felt was worth a high-capital investment. A key element of their team-building model is only investing on that level at certain positions — quarterback, pass rusher, cornerback and receiver — and only in players they believe have “elite” traits as quantified by their in-house analysis.
“What we can’t do is mope that we don’t have Von,” said Snead, adding, “We’re not replacing Von.”
The group immediately turned on some film of free-agent cornerbacks but weren’t inspired. Then, McVay flipped through a few texts on his phone. On and off that spring, he, Stafford and Kupp had talked about free-agent receiver Allen Robinson, marveling at what they felt others couldn’t see: that Robinson, for all of his reputation as a high-point, contested catch receiver, was incredibly versatile. That he could separate in between the hashes, not just up in the air. That, along with all of that, Stafford always loved having a big-bodied receiver with a huge catch radius to reel in what McVay admiringly calls, “f— it throws”.
“You can line (Robinson) up anywhere,” said Kupp. “He can do all of the other stuff, just like Odell was doing. Play some stuff underneath, be able to be singled up on the back side and win one-on-ones — I mean, A-Rob is a guy who can do all of it.”
McVay was nervous about his receiving corps. Beckham, playing on a one-year deal, tore his ACL in the Super Bowl en route to what may have been an MVP performance. The Rams wanted (and still want) to bring Beckham back but knew he couldn’t contribute until November or December. No. 3 receiver Van Jefferson had just undergone the first of two knee procedures. Woods was still recovering from his torn ACL and so was considered by staff as an “unknown” for 2022.
The energy in the room started buzzing as the group turned on film cut-ups of Robinson. Still, the Rams were cautious. They knew they couldn’t offer him more than the framework they had set aside for Kupp. They also figured he had a couple of suitors already. Would he consider them?
Late that Wednesday night, the Rams called Robinson. He was deep in talks with the Eagles, two sources told The Athletic, but the Rams asked him to postpone his final decision long enough to get on a video call with McVay and Stafford. The coach and quarterback showed Robinson clips of Beckham that they had hustled to put together for the occasion showing how the passing offense eventually evolved around him and Kupp.
“Didn’t know if he was going to be here or not,” Stafford said. “But tried to put some stuff out there to show a role that could come to fruition.”
A 2014 second-round pick who spent the first eight years of his career split between the Jaguars and Bears — two teams with woefully inadequate quarterback play — Robinson had taken a cautious and researched approach to free agency. Along with his agent, Brandon Parker, he even attended the 2022 scouting combine in late February to talk to interested teams in person.
When the Rams called, Robinson didn’t need to be sold — a Detroit native, he had long admired Stafford from afar. But he let McVay and Stafford say their piece. After watching the clips with them, Robinson decided that throwing himself into something he hadn’t expected gave him a feeling he’d been waiting for, for almost a decade.
“I think for (some) guys, that ‘unknown’ causes sleepless nights,” he said. “At the end of the day, you just believe in yourself, you bet on yourself, you trust in yourself and you believe that what happens next is best. You never know what’s on the other side.”
Only a couple of hours after their initial call, Robinson told the Rams he was in. The sides agreed to a three-year, $46 million deal with $30 million guaranteed mere hours after Miller’s fateful call to McVay. The sudden change in strategy — not from pass rusher to pass rusher, but from elite defensive player to elite offensive player, was striking.
“We love Von, but it didn’t work out,” said McVay. “And so now, you say, ‘How do we pivot in the right direction?’ And it doesn’t exclusively have to be from that position. I think that’s where the flexible approach from our personnel staff, our coaches (is) to say, ‘OK, what does that look like?’”
Shortly after Robinson signed, Woods was traded to Tennessee. The Rams, by then emotionally removed from the idea of “running it back”, leaned further into their new direction. They signed another future Hall of Famer, inside linebacker Bobby Wagner, in late March, rolling some of their savings from not signing Miller into Wagner’s multiyear deal.
“Then, it was like, ‘OK, this is going to be a different team,’” COO Kevin Demoff told The Athletic.
“I think if you’re a realist about repeating, defending, the fact that nobody has done this in 17 years — if there was a way to do it, people would have figured it out,” he added. “So clearly, the way to do it is to not pay attention to repeating, and to pay attention to building the best team that you can.”
McVay says it’s an ethos of agility. Snead likes to call it “being anti-fragile.”
It’s the same phrase Snead repeated back in November, when the Rams almost broke, but instead — behind Beckham and an unexpected pivot in their offense during an adverse time — found something new.
Signing free agent Allen Robinson was consistent with the Rams’ team-building model of investing in stars at premium positions. (Jevone Moore / Getty Images)
The lore inside the Rams locker room is that Robinson and Wagner respectfully declined open invitations to attend the team’s ring ceremony in July.
The two attended every single day of voluntary spring workouts. Wagner sat with different players in stretching lines before the start of practices. Robinson dove into the playbook with restless, obsessive energy. Personnel staff marveled at the intensity with which he studied.
But they told teammates they wanted to build something new together. The past was not theirs to live in.
“People want to come here and win and do something special,” said Snead. “I think that’s a little bit of an unsung ingredient. Now, time will tell, but I do think it’s neat having players like that.”
The Bills know that, too. It’s part of why they went after Miller. In a way, they and the Rams are linked not just by Miller, or by the NFL’s schedule, but also by a similar ethos: They are in Super Bowl contention, and willing to sprint without abandon toward whoever they believe gets them that much closer to eternity.
“As soon as you take that step (in one direction), I think it’s your duty to ask, ‘Is this still the right way to go?’” said Kupp. “You still keep asking yourself that, (even as) you keep going as fast as you can, as hard as you can down that way.”
The cries of “run it back” that reverberated through the hallways and spilled onto the fields in Thousand Oaks are gone, replaced by a new feeling.
It stems from the moves the Rams made to win a championship in 2021, from the attitude by which they built their team, from a mantra Whitworth imparted throughout a bleak November before the Rams went on their run, from an offseason in which nothing stayed the same because it couldn’t, perhaps because it shouldn’t:
“Grow or die.”
(Illustration: John Bradford / The Athletic; Photos: Grant Halverson, Aaron Ontiveroz, Harry How, Scott Tatsch / Getty Images)
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NFL Nation
AFC EAST
Reid: Will the Bills entertain the possibility of taking a running back in the first round because of their need in the backfield?It certainly is not out of the question. The Bills clearly feel like running back is a need — they attempted to sign J.D. McKissic — and adding Duke Johnson in free agency isn’t enough to fill the missing piece. Buffalo has the flexibility in the draft to go after the player who best adds to the roster. A dynamic back would be a valuable addition, although history hasn’t been kind to drafting the position in the first round. General manager Brandon Beane was in the Panthers’ front office that drafted Christian McCaffrey eighth overall in 2017. — Alaina Getzenberg2 Related
Reid: The Dolphins don’t pick until the last selection of the third round (No. 102 overall). What position(s) could they target there?Dolphins general manager Chris Grier went to work this offseason, shoring up the team’s dismal offensive line from a season ago, adding one of the best receivers in the league in Tyreek Hill and infusing their running backs room with talent — all while retaining every defensive starter from last season. Miami is truly in a position to take the best player available, but should prioritize inside linebacker and interior offensive line. — Marcel Louis-Jacques
Reid: Now that the team has acquired DeVante Parker, could wide receiver still be in play or will another position be targeted at No. 21 overall?Wide receiver is still in play if that is the way the board falls, with the key consideration that Nelson Agholor and Jakobi Meyers — two of the top returning pass-catchers — are scheduled for unrestricted free agency after the 2022 season. One thing to consider, however, is that in his prior 22 drafts with the Patriots, Bill Belichick has selected a first-round receiver just once (2019, N’Keal Harry). — Mike Reiss
Reid: After an aggressive attempt to trade for Tyreek Hill, do you foresee a wide receiver being selected at No. 10 overall?Assuming the Jets don’t trade for a veteran by the draft, yes, it is a possibility. The top candidates are Drake London, Garrett Wilson and perhaps even Jameson Williams. But it is not a sure thing, especially not with two picks near the top of Round 2. With a deep receiver class, they could find a comparable talent in the second round. General manager Joe Douglas won’t reach for a need at No. 10 if better players are available. — Rich Cimini
AFC NORTH
Reid: Which position will the Ravens fill at No. 14 overall knowing they still need help in the trenches and at cornerback?The Ravens have to select the best available pass-rusher or cornerback. Baltimore’s biggest need is at outside linebacker because Tyus Bowser tore his Achilles in the season finale and Za’Darius Smith backed out of an agreement in free agency. There’s also a void at cornerback where there is no depth outside of Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters, both of whom suffered season-ending injuries last season. — Jamison Hensley
• Ranks: Kiper » | McShay » | Positions »
Reid: With Deshaun Watson now at quarterback, is drafting a receiver early a possibility or will general manager Andrew Berry look to add elsewhere?Wide receiver is the position to watch for the Browns in the draft. Cleveland did trade for Amari Cooper this offseason, but this group still needs work to unlock potential chunk plays in the passing game. The Browns don’t have a first-round pick after the Deshaun Watson trade, but they could select a potential starter in the second round, or look to trade up in what is shaping up to be a strong receiving draft class. — Jake Trotter
Reid: Could the Steelers trade up for a quarterback or will they look to address another position in the first round?The Steelers have been adamant that free-agency moves won’t preclude them from adding to a position in the draft — and that includes quarterback. But, it seems unlikely that the Steelers would move up to grab one. They have traded their first-round pick only six times in the common draft era. The Steelers could still draft a quarterback in the first, but the board would have to fall the right way to make it happen. Otherwise, look for the team to draft best player available, with an emphasis on defensive back, wide receiver, inside linebacker and defensive line. — Brooke Pryor
Miller: With the No. 3 overall pick, are the Texans in “best player available” mode or will it be a pick to fill a need?The answer has to be best player available. The Texans have so many holes in their roster that general manager Nick Caserio shouldn’t be picky about which positions of need he is filling. After trading Watson, Caserio said he didn’t want to eliminate any position in the draft, including quarterback. While it seems unlikely the general manager would use one of Houston’s top picks on a quarterback, just about every other position is fair game. — Sarah Barshop
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Miller: Aidan Hutchinson is a favorite for the No. 1 overall pick, but what should Jacksonville look for at pick No. 33?If the team is serious about taking the “build around Trevor Lawrence” approach, then a receiver or an interior offensive lineman should be the focus here. The Jaguars did add Christian Kirk and Zay Jones in free agency, but adding another pass-catcher — especially an outside receiver — is another investment in Lawrence. However, the Jaguars need to beef up the interior line, so using No. 33 to fill a need there would also make sense. — Michael DiRocco
Miller: Wide receiver has been a hot mock draft pick for the Titans, but is the offensive line more of a first-round target?Yes, the offensive line is more of a target because the Titans have two starting spots up for grabs. Tennessee would like 2021 second-round pick Dillon Radunz to take one of the vacant starting spots. This year’s receiver group is pretty deep so the Titans could take a wideout later in the draft. Whoever they select isn’t likely to get an abundance of targets behind A.J. Brown, Robert Woods and Austin Hooper. — Turron Davenport
Miller: What does an ideal early draft look like for the Broncos, who don’t have many on-paper needs?Even after trading for Russell Wilson, the Broncos have eight picks in the draft — five of those over the first 116 picks. They need some help with cornerback, edge rusher, linebacker, a right tackle prospect and possibly an impact returner. But cornerback should be the priority since the quickest way to watch your defensive plan crumble in today’s NFL is to be unable to handle the inevitable injuries at cornerback, or be unable to show variety in your nickel and dime packages because you don’t have the players to do it. — Jeff Legwold
Miller: Will general manager Brett Veach and coach Andy Reid use picks Nos. 29 and 30 or is a trade possible?A trade does seem more likely than not. The Chiefs also have two picks in each of the second, third and fourth rounds. They can easily move for a player or players they like and Veach likes to deal. He traded the Chiefs’ first-round pick in two of the past three years and has traded up in the second round a couple of times since his first draft as GM in 2018. — Adam Teicher
Miller: Should the Raiders go all-in on the defensive side of the ball in this draft?And here we are at the need vs. best player available argument again, right? There’s no doubt the Raiders, who don’t have picks in the first or second rounds (Las Vegas gave them to Green Bay for Davante Adams), need to go all-in on the defensive side of the ball in the draft. But how many difference-makers can be found there at the end of Day 2 and Day 3? And as new coach Josh McDaniels said at the NFL owners meetings, the Raiders would go with the best player, even if it means drafting three straight players at the same position. That works … if all three are defensive players, right? — Paul Gutierrez
Miller: It feels like it is offensive tackle or bust for the Chargers in Round 1, but what other positions are a need for L.A.?Yes, the Chargers have added to their pass rush (Khalil Mack) and pass defense (J.C. Jackson), but after having the 30th-ranked rush defense, they also need help down low and in the trenches. A run-stuffing and gap-eating defensive tackle would foot the bill here. But would Georgia’s Jordan Davis still be there at No. 17 overall? — Paul Gutierrez
Reid: Which positions could the Cowboys target early to replenish the talent lost on the roster?Regardless of the players they lost, it is obvious where the Cowboys will be looking: offensive line, wide receiver and defensive line. They lost Connor Williams, Amari Cooper, Cedrick Wilson and Randy Gregory at those spots in either a trade or during free agency, and the offensive line remains the one spot they have yet to replenish in free agency. They added wideout James Washington and pass-rusher Dante Fowler Jr. as outside free agents, but their additions will not prevent the Cowboys from adding a player at their position even early in the draft. — Todd Archer
Reid: With three picks in the top 36, what could general manager Joe Schoen identify to build this roster the way he wants to construct it?The Giants absolutely have to address the offensive line, specifically offensive tackle. But, really, almost anything applies. “We have enough needs on the roster to take the best player available,” Schoen said recently. And he is not kidding. Edge rusher and cornerback also should be at the top of his list. — Jordan Raanan
Reid: With two first-round picks, will the Eagles entertain the idea of selecting a receiver for the third consecutive year?They tried to trade for Calvin Ridley before his suspension and went after free-agent receivers, signalling their desire to upgrade the position. The big-money contracts handed out to veteran receivers of late should further incentivize teams to look for lower-cost options in the draft. So sure, I think the Eagles will entertain drafting a receiver in the first round if the stars align, but I’d put defensive line and defensive back as the more likely positions they’ll address early, with receiver in play on Day 2. — Tim McManus
Reid: Where are the Commanders’ biggest holes, and what could they look for in Round 1?Receiver is definitely on the list. Carson Wentz needs another target. But they also love their Buffalo nickel package and want someone to replace Landon Collins in the safety/linebacker hybrid role — but that makes sense only at No. 11 if Kyle Hamilton is available. Cornerback would make sense, as would linebacker, though with them using fewer three-linebacker sets it is hard to envision. Finally, coach Ron Rivera has often said how important it is to not only give a quarterback players to throw to, but you then have to protect him. — John Keim
Reid: Could the Bears double-dip at wideout in the second round to give Justin Fields more options?The Bears have picks at Nos. 39 and 48 and could be in play for receivers Skyy Moore, George Pickens or John Metchie III at either of those spots. General manager Ryan Poles likes how deep the middle rounds of the draft appear to be, so it’s possible Chicago ends up walking away from Day 2 with two receivers by selecting one in the second round and another in the third. Because the Bears have only six picks, the team could look to create more if the opportunity presents itself. Therefore, it’s possible Chicago takes a receiver in the second and trades back with its additional second-round pick to create more draft capital to use in later rounds. — Courtney Cronin
Reid: Jared Goff is under contract for two more years, but will Brad Holmes entertain the idea of selecting a QB with either the No. 2 or No. 32 overall picks?I’m sure the Lions will likely entertain the possibility of picking a quarterback, just like with any other positions. But I seriously don’t think they’ll take that risk — at least not right now. Detroit sees Goff as their guy, but that could change next year depending on how this season goes. The Lions need their first-round picks to come in and contribute immediately and won’t have the time to develop a young quarterback — particularly in a class that isn’t considered to be great by draft experts. — Eric Woodyard
Reid: With two selections on Day 1, will general manager Brian Gutekunst abandon the organization’s philosophy of not drafting wide receivers in the first round in order to replace Davante Adams?Doesn’t the streak have to end this year? In fact, it wouldn’t be a total surprise if the Packers used first- and second-round picks on receivers. They haven’t added a receiver since Adams was traded. — Rob Demovsky
Reid: Cornerback is an obvious need for the Vikings, but what are other positions general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah could try to take in the first round?Another area of need for the Vikings is offensive guard. Ezra Cleveland is an established starter on one side, but the Vikings’ attention during free agency at the position suggests they are concerned about the other. They signed three veteran guards — Jesse Davis, Chris Reed and Austin Schlottmann — but none can be considered slam-dunk starters. — Kevin Seifert
Miller: If the Falcons don’t draft a quarterback in Round 1, where will they go?The Falcons can really go anywhere — and I wouldn’t necessarily lock them into a quarterback at the moment. They are in a rebuild in which the franchise needs help at literally every position. So if they believe a quarterback is the best value at No. 8, they would go that direction. But wide receiver, edge rusher, interior defensive line and offensive line are possibilities, without question. The only way Atlanta goes quarterback is if management is completely convinced the player could be the Falcons’ guy for the next decade. Otherwise they need too much help elsewhere. — Michael Rothstein
Miller: Are the Panthers desperate enough at quarterback to draft one at No. 6 overall?Desperate might be a little strong, but yes. They made it obvious that Sam Darnold isn’t the answer by their pursuit of Deshaun Watson and interest in other quarterbacks. General manager Scott Fitterer has said there are a couple of quarterbacks in this year’s class worthy of a top-10 pick. The Panthers were at the pro days of Kenny Pickett (Pittsburgh), Malik Willis (Liberty) and Matt Corral (Mississippi), and are having each in for official visits. Carolina hasn’t used a first-round pick on a quarterback since Cam Newton in 2011 — and since then the Panthers have used only one draft pick total on a quarterback.. — David Newton
Miller: After trading to add another first-round pick, what two positions are ideal for the Saints to land in Round 1?The Saints should target wide receiver and left tackle. Obviously the quarterback position will be in play, too, until the Saints lock into their next long-term solution. But they plan on making a playoff run this year and need to give Jameis Winston reinforcements to help revive last year’s 32nd-ranked passing offense. They need another premium pass-catcher alongside the returning Michael Thomas and a long-term replacement at left tackle. — Mike Triplett
Miller: The Bucs drafted for future needs in the early rounds last year. Will we see a similar strategy with Tom Brady coming back?Because the Bucs re-signed all 22 starters on offense and defense last year, they were able to look toward the future and focus on bolstering special teams. But this year, they have a glaring need along their interior defensive line without Ndamukong Suh and are looking thin at edge rusher without Jason Pierre-Paul, so I would start there. Then the Bucs should address guard with Shaq Mason being the only sure starter and tight end, because Rob Gronkowski hasn’t yet committed to playing in 2022 and O.J. Howard departed for the Bills. — Jenna Laine
Miller: It seems like offensive line is a guaranteed first-round pick, but is there another direction the Cardinals could go?Picking an offensive lineman is far from guaranteed for the Cardinals considering how many offensive options they lost in free agency. If the lineman is the best option by far there, then it could be a good choice. But Arizona needs playmakers, so a wide receiver would be the other move at No. 23. The Cardinals need to give quarterback Kyler Murray all of the targets if they want to get back to the playoffs and beat the Rams. Chase Edmonds and Christian Kirk have moved on, and A.J. Green is still a free agent. Those three account for a significant chunk of the Cardinals’ offensive production last year. They will be getting DeAndre Hopkins back this season, but he needs others to complement him. — Josh Weinfuss
Miller: The Rams don’t have a selection until late in Round 3; what’s the one position they have to hit on in this draft?The Rams have as good of a roster as there is in the NFL at the moment and without a selection until the third round, they’ll have a bit more pressure to hit on a pick. Their primary needs in the draft are offensive line — with Andrew Whitworth retiring and Austin Corbett leaving in free agency — and cornerback, with Darious Williams leaving. If the Rams can hit on either of those two — or both — they could find themselves with more depth, which could come in handy in December, January and February. — Josh Weinfuss
Miller: Should the 49ers use early picks (they have two in Round 3) to build around Trey Lance or plug holes in the secondary?Even after signing cornerback Charvarius Ward, the Niners could still use some help in the secondary (namely strong safety and nickel corner). But their resources are better spent helping Lance. Specifically, the 49ers would be wise to use some meaningful draft capital on the offensive line for help at guard, a future option at center and possibly even another tackle with Mike McGlinchey entering the final year of his rookie deal. One more spot to watch? Edge rusher, where this regime has never been shy about continuing to add and the draft boasts plenty of potential. — Nick Wagoner
Miller: With three picks in the top 50 selections, what positions need the most attention in Seattle?Offensive tackle is the most glaring need, though the Seahawks could potentially bring back Duane Brown and/or Brandon Shell, as both former starters remain unsigned. The Seahawks did enough in free agency to not have to force a pick at edge rusher or cornerback, but they could still use a difference maker at either spot. They don’t view quarterback as being as big of a need as observers might because they’re high on Drew Lock’s potential. — Brady Henderson